Tars Tripped Up in Visit to Florida Southern

LAKELAND, Fla. (April 13, 2022) – The No. 10 Tars could not overcome a slow start at No. 12 Florida Southern, as the Mocs bested Rollins, 16-11.  With the defeat the Tars drop to 10-2 overall and 3-2 in Sunshine State Conference play. Florida Southern improves to 10-4, and 4-1 against conference opposition.
 
Jack Johnstone and Finn Jent led Rollins with four goals a piece.  Grant Hansen tallied three points, coming on one goal and a pair of assists.  Justin White and Marshall Ellison each scored once and dished out one assist.  Patrick Thomas made 12 stops in goal for Rollins, playing the full 60 minutes.
 
Jeff Atlas tallied a game high, seven points, finding the back of the net four times, and adding three assists.  A trio of other Mocs added hat tricks to the Florida Southern goal tally.  Maxwell Freestone made 11 saves for the Mocs, while Kevin Horwitz controlled the faceoffs for Florida Southern winning 24 of 31 draws.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter

• The Mocs jumped out to a two goal lead before Marshall Ellison got Rollins on the board, beating his defender from behind the cage to make the score 2-1.
• Florida Southern tallied the next four goals, including twice in the final minute of the quarter to take a 6-1 lead into the break.

Second Quarter

• Florida Southern tallied the first two goals of the second quarter, growing their lead to 8-1.
• Rollins then poured in three straight goals to keep the game in striking distance.  Grant Hansen beat his defender from X and scored a wrap around goal to start the run.  Hansen then assisted Jack Johnstone on the man-up for the second, before Finn Jent capped the run with laser from deep.
• The Mocs tallied one final goal, to send the teams to the break at 9-4.

Third Quarter

• Justin White got Rollins on the board to start the second half.  Ellison found the midfielder with a pass over the top, which White caught and fired home.
• The Tars cut the lead to three with a fast break goal from Jack Johnstone off an assist from Jared Kotar.
• Finn Jent riffled home his second to cut the deficit to just a pair, at 9-7, which was the score after three quarters of action.

Fourth Quarter

• The Mocs broke the Tars streak, scoring early in the fourth to grow their advantage back to three goals.
• Rollins brought the differential back down to two when Bailey Pringle found a cutting Johnstone, as the freshman completed his hat trick.
• The Mocs would respond with a quick five goal outburst of their own, putting the game out of reach.
• The Tars broke the streak when Jent sent a lefty missile into the top corner of the net, off a pass from Justin White.  The goal started a a three goal run that also saw Johnstone and Jent score to make it 15-11.
• It was too little, too late for Rollins though, as the Mocs added a late goal to cap the contest.

UP NEXT:
The Tars will stay on the road when they travel to Saint Leo.  Faceoff against the Lions is set for Saturday, April 16, at 3 p.m.
 
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